


Being Human

by theroguesgambit



Series: Drabbletastic [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Drabble, Human!Derek, M/M, pre-Sterek - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-28
Updated: 2014-07-28
Packaged: 2018-02-10 20:25:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2038914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theroguesgambit/pseuds/theroguesgambit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I can't be human, Stiles. Don't you get it? I'm useless like this."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Being Human

“I can’t be _human_ , Stiles," Derek snaps, his voice on the edge of frantic. "Don’t you get it? I’m useless like this.”

The words cut and Stiles grits out a fierce grin, leaning forward against the table.

“Yep, you’re just a useless human now like the rest of us. _How_ do we even drag ourselves out of bed in the morning, right?”

Derek slams a palm into the nearest wall, wincing as the impact buzzes unexpectedly through him. Serves him right, the creep.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you fucking mean, Derek? Because I’m hearing a whole lot of werewolf supremacy talk right now.”

Derek huffs out a frustrated breath, stalking forward, and Stiles has to admit that some of the intimidation factor is lost when he rolls his shoulder to shake out his still buzzing arm as he moves.

“That’s not… Stiles, damn it, this is _who you are_. Being a wolf, that’s what I have to offer. I can fight, I can sense things other people can’t. That’s what I _am._ ”

“So I’m the brains and you’re the brawn, huh?” He starts to smirk, the expression freezing a second later because, crap, that’s exactly what Derek thinks, isn’t it?

When he’d come over here, Stiles thought he’d have to give Derek a few pointers on not jumping off high ledges for fun and being careful with open wounds because germs can be a problem for people without wolf healing factors, thank you very much. He didn’t think he was signing up to deal with a whole Derek Identity Crisis.

He’s totally unprepared to list out Derek’s other virtues for him – his insight to the supernatural that no bestiaries can match, his stupidly encouraging pre-battle pep talks, his willingness to dive into danger without a second thought (which they’ll really need to wean him off of at this point, huh?)

That isn’t what they do for each other. So he goes with what he knows – gentle snarking.

“Hey, it’s not that bad, ok? Plenty of average human beings can still hold their own in a fight. Just look at my dad. Or Argent. You’ve just got to get out of that bad habit of letting bad guys hit you in the vitals, and you’ll be all good.”

Derek lets out a soft, pained noise.

“You don’t understand, it's… it’s like suddenly being blind and deaf and arthritic all at once. I can’t _smell you,_ Stiles. I don’t think I can even explain how…” He falters, fingers catching at the air in a loose fist, teeth gritting. “How _intangible_ everything feels. Nothing around me seems real. I can’t…”

He breaks off again when Stiles’ hand presses to his chest.

“How’s this for intangible?”

There’s a few seconds of frozen silence while Derek stares down at the hand, and Stiles’ brows twitch at the way Derek's heartbeat starts to rabbit fiercely against his hand. If Stiles were a werewolf, what would he smell right now? What emotions go along with those quickly dragging breaths, that faint tremor, that wrecked expression?

And then Derek is dragging him forward, his muscles straining to keep his grip gentle, instinctively fighting against a werewolf strength he no longer has. Stiles lets himself be moved, lets Derek wraps him in a fierce hug, breathing in against his throat like he’s searching for some hint of a familiar scent.

“Hey, it’s ok. You’ve got yourself a first-class guide to being human right here. We’ll get you through this until we find a way to fix it.”

The tremors ease up slightly. Derek’s grip tightens as he seems to remember that he can’t hurt Stiles this easily anymore, that they’re on more or less level playing ground here.

“If we can’t fix it?”

Derek doesn’t want empty platitudes. If he did, he wouldn’t be talking to Stiles.

He turns his head until his lips are pressing against Derek’s temple (doesn’t let himself think about that too much, about the way his own heart seems less tight when Derek lets out a quiet sigh).

He’s going to get Derek through this. His brain is already whirling, planning out training sessions with Argent to help Derek learn to fight without relying on extra strength or claws, shooting lessons with his dad so he can keep his distance during a fight as long as possible. Maybe some mandatory body armor until he can unlearn his stupid habit of playing bait and body shield for the rest of the pack.

“Stiles…” Derek’s voice sounds thin, wrecked. “What if I’m stuck like this?”

Derek might be a couple decades behind on knowing what it takes to be human, but he’s got a whole pack behind him. He’s got _Stiles_ behind him.

“Then we’ll figure it out.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I apologize for the title. There are probably more human!Derek ficlets on the way. I feel pretty inspired for it.
> 
>  
> 
> [Come find me on Tumblr](http://halekingsourwolf.tumblr.com)


End file.
